The Things You Thought You Knew
by Rusty Fingers
Summary: Grissom and Horatio further navigate the intricacies of integrating into each other's families. Teenagers, they can be so hard to get. Set after Everything a Mother Could Want for Her Son. Warning: Slash.


Notes and Warnings: I don't own 'em. Also, there's mention of fellas getting it on in this story. Oh, you don't like that? Don't read it!

####

Horatio stood on the Balcony of Kyle's new apartment. The view wasn't much but that hadn't been his primary concern. It was important that Kyle feel safe, like he had a home where he could get away from everything and everyone. Including his father, if need be.

When making this decision, Horatio had been conscious of how badly he had wanted to be away from his father when he was Kyle's age. The last thing he wanted was for Kyle to resent him.

His hair ruffled in the faint breeze of late afternoon as Kyle joined him.

"This place is amazing; you even stocked the fridge dad!" His exuberance was palpable and Horatio felt he had made the right decision. No moving in with him and having to wonder what he could and couldn't do, where he could and could not go. No more worrying, Horatio hoped.

He smiled over at his son. "It'll always be stocked. We can go shopping on weekends."

Kyle nodded his head and thought for a moment. "I'll make sure I have a list ready. That would probably make the most sense."

Horatio grinned and placed his hand on the back of Kyle's neck, ruffling the hair there a little bit. There so much seriousness in his son already.

Father and son adopted similar stances, leaning against the railing with their forearms and looking out.

Kyle looked over at his father a few times, nervous about something. "Are you leaving?"

Horatio's brow instantly furrowed. "What makes you ask that?"

Kyle shifted his shoulders, uncomfortable. "This just seems kinda too good to be true, you know? And...you've been acting different lately, I just..."

Removing his sunglasses and focusing on a gull flying in the distance, Horatio thought this over before turning to face Kyle. "Nothing..._nothing_ could take me away from you. Ever."

Hotaio had put as much caring and force as he could into those words, that look. Kyle still looked reserved.

"So...there's nothing going on?" He hung his head and looked sideways at his father.

"Well..." A knot formed in the pit of Horatio's stomach. Grissom hadn't faulted him for being wary of telling Kyle. However mature he might have been, Kyle was still a 16 year old boy growing up in the very Christian, very southern state of Florida. Whatever opinions he harboured about what people should be doing in the bedroom and with whom were likely influenced by his classmates and, ergo, their parents.

It all boiled down to not wanting to alienate him, that's what terrified Horatio. At the same time, Kyle wasn't stupid. If Horatio didn't say something, the consequences of him finding out on his own could potentially be worse.

"You know, I have been meaning to tell you something Kyle." Horatio's face became concerned as he looked at the fear in Kyle. "I want you to know it has nothing to do with me...leaving or...anything like that, okay? I'm here."

Kyle nodded his head almost imperceptibly. His stomach was twisting in knots of fear. Try as he might not to, Kyle had become attached to his father and he knew just how dangerous getting attached to people could be.

Horatio fiddled with the earpieces of his sunglasses. "I've been seeing someone...for some time now." He raised his brow briefly and looked askance at Kyle.

His son's face brightened somewhat. "That's...that's great dad." As far as Kyle knew, if his father was seeing someone, he hadn't heard about it. He still felt apprehensive though. Plenty of foster family situations had changed dramatically with the introduction of girlfriend or boyfriend. And then there was Ron Saris. "What's she like?" He wanted to know, praying his father had found someone just like him. Quiet, caring...not crazy.

Subtly, Horatio reached up and undid another button on his black, striped dress shirt. "Do you remember that case I told you about...the one I worked in Vegas?" He was stalling.

Kyle thought for a minute. "You mean the one where you didn't come around to visit me for two weeks?"

That hurt Horatio a little and he deserved it. "I got wrapped up...I'm sorry."

"That's okay dad. Did you meet her there?" His son's face turned serious after Horatio didn't respond for a minute. "Come on dad, you're scaring me here."

Horatio inhaled, exhaled, slowly. "His name is Gil Grissom." He looked at his son from the corner of his eye, saw it register.

Kyle didn't say anything for a minute, simply looked stunned. "It's a guy?"

Horatio nodded and turned to face his son. "We've been seeing one another for almost a year. It's serious Kyle."

Kyle's mouth hung open, trying to form sentences as he looked his father over, like there was something there he'd missed before. "That...that doesn't make any sense. You've been married...you and mom had me!"

"Lower your voice, please." Horatio tried to inject calm into the conversation.

It didn't work. "No, you know what, this will go away. You like girls, I know it, all right?" Kyle was standing with his hands on his hips just as Horatio was.

"Kyle-"

"No. I don't want to hear about him. I don't want to know about him." Kyle gripped his head with his hands and turned away. "I wish you'd never told me."

Horatio watched him jog into the house as he stood, hands on his hips, shoulders square, jaw up and defiant. Inside, the anxiety in his stomach had lurched his heart down with it. His worst fear confirmed.

####

Grissom kicked off his shoes at the door as he closed it behind him, dead-bolting and chaining it. He had driven Sara home after the incident at the mental hospital, staying with her for an hour, talking about her mother. Rubbing his eyes with one hand, his glasses in the other, he thought about the red welt on her neck and the fear in her eyes. He had been accused of being socially inept so many times he had come to believe it but there was no getting around his instinctive response to his friends being in danger. Seeing Sara like that, thinking he might loose her. It terrified him.

Shaking his head, Grissom went to the kitchen and started some bacon frying as he chopped vegetables for a salad. His mind kept playing the same scene over and over again until he dropped the knife irritably, letting it clatter on the counter.

He whispered 'sorry Horatio' under his breath as he dialled and checked his watch.

Horatio answered, sounding, if not perfectly alert, then at least like he hadn't been sleeping.

"Gil?" There was concern in his voice. He knew Grissom made every effort to respect his sleep cycle.

"Horatio?" Grissom mirrored that same concern. "What are you doing awake?"

The sound of Horatio clearing his throat came over the line and Grissom frowned.

"It...it's been a long day," came Horatio's unsteady reply.

"So why are you making it a long night?" Grissom's voice had a hint of annoyance in it.

Chuckling softly, Horatio sighed. "That...is a very good question."

"I'm full of 'em," Grissom quipped as he went back to chopping, phone cradled in his shoulder. "You want to play 20 questions or do you want to tell me a story?"

Haltingly, Horatio told him about Tara's stealing of evidence to feed her habit. How they'd had to arrest her but not before Julia, wrongly accused by Horatio of stealing the pills that Tara took, pulled a gun on their son in the morgue.

"I had her committed to keep her from serving jail time."

Grissom stood still, looking forward into space, amazed sometimes that his lover's life could be this complicated.

"Gil?"

"I'm here. Kyle, Ryan, they're okay?" He asked the first coherent question that came to his mind. The fact that Kyle had expressed a complete and utter lack of desire to have anything to do with him hadn't stopped Grissom from asking about him. He was Horatio's son and that was that. He didn't know it, but it made Horatio fall a little more in love with him.

"Kyle's shaken up but...no one was hurt."

"That's a blessing. How are you doing?" This was what Horatio was avoiding and Grissom knew it. The reason he was awake at this ungodly hour was that Horatio was busy beating himself up about Tara and Julia.

"Better now that I'm talking to you," Horatio said huskily as he looked at the photo of them on his desk. Susan Grissom had sent it via post, in a lovely frame. The two of them were close, dancing in Susan's living room, oblivious of the world around them. Horatio still had the note she had sent with it, written in flowing script, thanking him for the dance and telling him he'd better not make her wait for the next one. "I know you're not psychic, Doctor Grissom. Why are you phoning me three hours after your shift ended?"

Grissom sighed, finishing crumbling bacon on to his salad and setting one palm on the counter as he grasped the phone again. "Sara almost died tonight." Horatio didn't respond to this but Grissom knew he would have sat or stood up, attentive. "This...pretty disturbing case, God it could have been a Greek tragedy Horatio. This man was committed because he went insane after his mother sexually and emotionally abused him...for years. He held a shank to Sara's throat and I was looking her in the eyes and...if things had turned out differently I..." His voice didn't crack, just got quieter and quieter.

"But they didn't and she's okay, right?" Horatio said steadily.

"Yeah." Grissom rubbed his beard. "That's why I'm calling," he said after a moment, "I can't get it out of my mind, the thought of loosing her, the picture of her looking up at me, about to..."

Never before had they wanted so badly to be by each other's side. Part of what made their's such a strong bond was the fact that they understood each other. Neither of them were particularly social, each having their own bizarre hobbies and practices. They were both intelligent and observant, two qualities which saw them promoted to leading their teams. And now that they were in those positions, both men knew the joys and burdens of them. They were leaders and teachers in their own ways.

And they missed each other's company dearly.

It wasn't the first time they spent an indeterminate length of time on the phone, sharing silence, appreciating that the other was there.

"You should get some sleep," Grissom eventually spoke.

"Are you going to be okay?" Horatio knew he was right but did not want the conversation to be over.

"We always are, aren't we?"

Both men paused after this, small smiles breaking their frowning demeanours.

"Yes we are," Horatio rumbled. "I miss you Gil."

Grissom's chest constricted at the rare sentiment. "I miss you, too."

They hung up and both looked unhappily at their phones. Horatio stripped and fell naked into bed, hoping for a couple hours of oblivion. Grissom looked up flights on his laptop. It had been months and this was ridiculous.

####

Kyle had just kicked the door of his car shut, a large backpack and duffel bag in his hands, and was walking up to his father's door when he saw a cab pull up. He turned to see a man in his forties exit carrying a small suite case and a brown grocery bag. Average height, dressed in black dress pants and a black sport coat, bearded and wearing a pair of sunglasses not unlike his father's. The man looked normal, like he could blend into a crowd and be just another dad or middle class working stiff. Except for his face, Kyle noted. Even with the sunglasses the man's face had a calculating quality to it, especially when he saw Kyle and cocked his head ever so slightly to one side.

Grissom had seen photos. He knew who this was standing on Horatio's doorstep. Miraculously, his body didn't send panic signals as they regarded one another for a moment. He felt calm as he set down his suit case and removed his glasses.

"Hello Kyle," he said casually.

Kyle looked young as he shifted slightly so as to look sidelong at Grissom. He looked young and like his father. "Who are you?"

Grissom stepped forward to within proper talking distance, removed his sunglasses and offered his hand. "I'm Gil Grissom."

His manners being impeccable for a teenage boy, Kyle shook the hand firmly even as his brain put the pieces together. But there was no alarm as when he had first heard that name. He just stared intently at the grey eyes that had crows feet around them from smiling or perhaps frowning. Maybe both, he decided upon further inspection.

"You're Gil Grissom?" He asked.

"I am." Grissom's tone was level and he kept his distance. He wanted Kyle to feel respected, not challenged by his presence.

"You look so...normal," Kyle managed after a minute, still looking him over.

Smiling through slightly pursed lips, Grissom said nothing but kept his eyes on Kyle.

"You're here to see dad, aren't you?" The boy said finally.

"I am," Grissom said again.

Nodding, Kyle looked at his feet, then back at the door, then back to Grissom. "I was gonna come spend the night. He's been kinda down lately."

Grissom lifted an eyebrow momentarily. "That's why I'm here too. He has this annoying habit of hiding how he's feeling."

Kyle smiled a little. "Yeah, he does, doesn't he?" Looking Grissom over one more time, Kyle nodded towards the house. "Do you want to come inside and wait for him?"

"Thank you." Grissom picked up the suite case from behind him and followed Kyle into the house.

"Do you want something to drink?" Kyle asked from the fridge.

Grissom smiled. He was well mannered. "Water, thank you."

They both sat on opposite ends of the couch, Grissom drinking his water with a straight back, Kyle drinking a can of soda with long limbs sprawled out. Grissom felt he was being scrutinized but said nothing.

"I don't get it," Kyle spoke from behind his soda can.

"What's that?"

"You don't look...like I was expecting you to look." Kyle was clearly uncomfortable with this topic but needed to express himself. Grissom felt he was brave.

"You mean I don't look gay," Grissom stated. He knew when being blunt would serve him well with people. He knew that Kyle would appreciate it.

Kyle shrugged. Whatever he had been expecting his father's male lover to look, sound and act like, whatever that was, Grissom didn't fit the bill. He _looked_ smart to the boy, not overbearing, not narcissistic. Those were two traits Kyle had been fearing in this man, that they would make him a burden on his father like others had been in the past. Like, Kyle hated to admit, his mother had been.

Taking another sip of water, Grissom asked matter of factly, "how many kids are in your school?"

Kyle frowned in thought. "A thousand maybe." His move into his apartment had also coincided with a move to the public education system. He hadn't minded this or the downgrade to a Honda.

"Statistically speaking, one hundred of your classmates are gay."

"No way," Kyle laughed, "really?"

"Statistically. Could be more, could be less. The point is, what does gay look like?" Grissom posed to him.

Kyle looked thoughtful and nodded. "I guess...I just didn't think that my dad was, you know?"

Grissom tipped his head in a slight shrug."A conclusion is often where someone got tired of thinking."

"You're saying he's not?" Kyle asked uncertainly.

"I'm saying," Grissom looked at the floor between his feet, "'Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind'." He looked back at Kyle. "Horatio's the only man I've ever been with and, though I can't say so with certainty, I think the same is true of him."

"Huh." Kyle seemed to consider this with some comfort. Out of the corner of his eye, he regarded Grissom, catching a hint of kindness in him. Nothing about Grissom was sending off warning signals yet and Kyle was becoming a better judge of character as time went on. "I read about you, it was in one of Doctor Price's medical journals, something about bugs."

Grissom grinned excitedly. "That reminds me," he stood and went to his luggage, "I brought something. I was going to just have Horatio give it to you...but." Fishing around in his luggage he managed to pull out a large textbook wrapped in a dark green, marbled cover. He stood and looked at it a moment before handing it over to Kyle.

"Grey's Anatomy, 29th edition?" He said quizzically, flipping open the pages. They were yellowed with age but the book was in immaculate condition. "Cool." Kyle was looking at the detailed prints.

Taking a chance, Grissom sat down next to him and slipped on is glasses. "Your dad told me you were working in the morgue and taking more than passing interest in it."

"This is sweet. You're giving it to me?" Kyle had never kept attachments to belongings because they always got lost or stolen growing up, rarely to be replaced. Apart from the superficial things his mother had showered on him, he wasn't used to getting gifts.

"If you'd like it. It was my copy when I was a little older than you."

"You worked in a morgue?" Kyle asked, somewhat with disbelief but also with respect.

Tipping his head and shrugging, Grissom replied, "I was a coroner."

"Cool." He smiled at Grissom. "Thank you very much. I don't know if I want to go there but I'm interested."

Grissom pointed to the book, "you'll go through several different careers in your life. It's important to keep an open and well fed mind."

As they sat on the couch, Grissom explaining some Latin terminology to Kyle, Horatio came through the front door. He had been expecting it to be open because Kyle's car was out front. He hadn't been expecting to see his lover and his son sitting on the couch, chatting. Slipping off his sunglasses he looked them over. They looked at him with bright, smiling faces and Horatio thought for a moment he might be dreaming.

"Gentlemen," he rumbled.

"Hey." Grissom's eyes spoke the volumes he was holding back for Kyle's sake.

"Hey dad." Kyle's smile was genuine. He'd never seen his father look at another person the way he was looking at Grissom. The thought caused him to feel guilty for the things he had said. "I found Mr. Grissom outside, thought I should bring him in."

Grissom looked over to Kyle with a raised eyebrow as Horatio laughed.

"Probably...a good idea," Horatio rumbled, unable to keep the smile from his face. "And what have we gotten up to." He slipped his shoes off and walked over to them.

"He brought me Grey's Anatomy. It's pretty neat." Kyle held up the book for his father, their blue eyes having a sameness that made it difficult for Horatio to get mad at him.

Horatio's eyes fell to Grissom's and they shared a moment of silence. Looking back and forth between them in that time, Kyle got up. "I have to pee." He ducked up the stairs, wanting them to have a moment without him. Guilt started to seep into his chest when he realised they probably didn't want to hug in front of him because he'd said those stupid things.

He was right. As soon as he could no longer be seen they were in one another's arms, holding each other tightly, breathing each other's scent.

"Surprise," Grissom whispered into his lover's ear.

Horatio didn't laugh, just smiled as he closed his eyes tightly. He kissed Grissom's neck, then his scratchy cheek, then his lips. All the fear and pain of the last week drained from them both in that embrace.

Kyle peeked his head below the ceiling from the second to last stair and looked at them hugging. Eventually he smiled. He didn't think he'd ever seen his father sustain physical contact with someone for that long before.

Both men took a step back from each other when they heard Kyle's footsteps on the stairs and Horatio looked back at him.

"When was the last time you saw each other?" The boy asked, moving towards the kitchen.

"Uh...it's been a while," Horatio said, looking back to his lover's grey eyes.

"Well," Kyle made a motion of bringing his palms together, "carry on. I'll start dinner. I'm assuming that's what the groceries are for?" He dug through the paper bag.

"They are," Grissom affirmed before they hugged once more. Kyle eyed them surreptitiously and smiled.

"Uh...what am I making with this?" Kyle looked at the pizza crusts, feta cheese, olives, pesto and spinach that were spread over the counter in confusion.

"Pizza," Grissom said obviously, breaking his contact with Horatio.

"Pizza?" Kyle said, looking at the salad-like properties of the ingredients.

Grissom looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smile as he rolled up his sleeves. "Step aside young man."

It wasn't long before all three sat around the coffee table, plates full of pizza by their sides, cards and cash on the table. Kyle was on the floor, Grissom and Horatio sat side by side on the couch.

"So that's two pair. The suites of your's are higher than Horatio's so you would take the pot," Grissom said, collecting his cards and tossing them on the table. "Your deal."

"Cool." Kyle picked up the cards and started shuffling.

"I don't know if we should be teaching Kyle to gamble at this age," Horatio rumbled, looking somewhat warningly at Grissom who held up his hands.

"Come on dad, poker is a life skill!"

"It's true, I financed my first body farm with my poker winnings," Grissom stated matter of factly.

Father and son looked at him and blinked.

"What's a body farm?" Kyle asked through a mouth full of food.

"A field full of dead bodies in various conditions of sun exposure, burial, that sort of thing. They're a good way to learn about what effects environment has on decomp."

Kyle nodded his head at this, chalking up another point for the new guy. Horatio kept his squirm inducing look on Grissom, to no effect.

"Don't worry about it," Grissom said dismissively, "Kyle's a smart kid. He knows better than to try and gamble until he's had a chance to learn how to actually win. By which time, he'll be able to do it legally anyway." He risked a smile and drew one out from Horatio.

"Okay then. Your deal son."

####

It was one in the morning when they started to yawn, it spreading from Grissom to Kyle to Horatio. Grissom looked at father and son and said, "I'm gonna call a cab."

Horatio looked over at him quickly, confused. "Um, where to?"

Grissom stood. "The Miami Beach." He looked down a bit sadly at his lover, "I think Kyle would like to spend the night."

Kyle watched this back and forth and saw an opportunity. "Well, dad has a guest bedroom. That's where I stay when I come over. You two could...I mean..."

Horatio smiled at his sons faltering words. "Gil...doesn't want to make you uncomfortable, Kyle."

Looking from one to the other, he said quickly "I know, It wouldn't make me uncomfortable." His eyes met his father's, ocean blue, just like his. "He's only here for the weekend and...you haven't seen each other in so long."

"If you're sure." Grissom's gaze was very different from Horatio's. Kyle felt him prodding for the truth with that look, so direct and firm.

He returned it without hesitation. "Yeah, positive."

####

Grissom bade Kyle goodnight and climbed the stairs, leaving Horatio to pack up the remnants of dinner while his son helped.

"I'm sorry dad," he said quietly before looking over at his father, "I'm sorry for what I said when you told me."

Horatio looked at him a minute before saying "come here," and pulling him in for a hug. They were the same height now, he noticed. "I love you." He needed to say that more often to his son, he realized.

"I love you too, dad." Kyle's voice was a little high with the threat of tears. "I just want you to be happy."

"I know son, I know." He held him for some time. Though he was fast growing, Kyle's frame was still frail and skinny, reminding Horatio of how much of a child he still was. His child.

They parted, Kyle wiping his eyes quickly as Horatio went back to the clean up. "So...what's the verdict?"

Kyle was tempted to say something smart to break the tension but decided to pass. "I like him." Was all he managed. "He should come more often," he said after further thought, thinking of how relaxed his father had been the whole night.

Horatio chuckled. "I'll pass that on to him."

As they said their good nights, Kyle heading to the guest room on the main floor, Horatio heading up stairs, Kyle said, "dad?"

He stopped, one foot on the first step and looked at Kyle.

Kyle blushed deeply. "Do me a favour? Keep it down?"

Horatio smiled, looked to the ceiling, looked to the floor, back to his son. "I'll do my best." He didn't think he'd ever seen Kyle flee a scene so fast in his life.

Horatio was still laughing in his deep tone when he reached the room and found Grissom standing with his shirt off, looking inquisitively at him. Moving to stand behind his lover, Horatio used one arm to pull him close and put his other hand over Grissom's mouth.

"Kyle requests...that we keep it down," He rumbled in Grissom's ear as the arm pressing him close drifted lower and lower down his belly.

Grissom groaned and smiled underneath his lover's hand. "That should make it interesting," he said when Horatio uncovered his mouth.

They did make love quietly that night, reclaiming their first night of passion by using the floor to circumvent a potentially creaky bed frame. It had less to do with experimenting with gags, though, and more to do with the enormous relief both men felt. Relief that Kyle had let a cooler head prevail. Relief that they wouldn't be sleeping alone tonight.

Taking their time, building slowly, it wasn't until they climaxed that Horatio put his hand over Grissom's face, burying his own mouth into Grissom's chest. In bed, they lay kissing and running their hands through each others hair. It was the first decent nights sleep either had had in a week.

####

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind" -William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Nights Dream

Spend time readin in bed, on couch, Grissom on entomology, Horatio on chemistry.


End file.
